A delay-lock loop includes several delay lines, all but the first of which is composed of at least one variable delay unit that provides a fixed delay and a variable delay. The first delay line is composed of a plurality of fixed delay units, but no variable delay units. The remaining delay lines are each composed of different numbers of variable delay units to provide respective clock signals having different phases, but they do not include any of the fixed delay units. The first and a last delay line receive an input clock signal. Each of the remaining delay lines are coupled to an output of one of the fixed delay units depending on the number of variable delay units in the delay line so that the resulting clock signals have all been delayed the same number of fixed delay periods.
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1. A delay-lock loop whose operating frequency is unconstrained by intrinsic delay, the delay-lock ioop comprising:
a first delay line having an intrinsic delay and a voltage controlled delay, the first delay line receiving an input clock signal and generating a first clock signal;
a second delay line having an intrinsic delay and a voltage controlled delay, the second delay line receiving the input clock signal and generating a second clock signal;
a third delay line having an intrinsic delay and a voltage controlled delay, the third delay line receiving the input clock signal and generating a third clock signal; and
wherein the intrinsic delays of the first, second and third delay lines are substantially the same, but the voltage controlled delays of the first, second and third delay lines are substantially different from each other.
20. A memory device comprising:
a row address circuit operable to receive and decode row address signals applied to external address terminals of the memory device;
a column address circuit operable to receive and decode column address signals applied to the external address terminals;
a memory cell array operable to store data written to and read from the array at a location determined by the decoded row address signals and the decoded column address signals
a read data path circuit operable to couple read data signals from the memory cell array to external data terminals of the memory device;
a write data path circuit operable to couple write data signals from the external data terminals of the memory device to the memory cell array;
a command decoder operable to decode a plurality of command signals applied to respective external command terminals of the memory device, the command decoder being operable to generate control signals corresponding to the decoded command signals; and
a delay-lock loop operable to generate either the write data strobe signal or the read data strobe signal from an internal clock signal, the delay-lock loop comprising:
a first delay line having an intrinsic delay and a voltage controlled delay, the first delay line receiving an input clock signal and generating a first clock signal;
a second delay line having an intrinsic delay and a voltage controlled delay, the second delay line receiving the input clock signal and generating a second clock signal;
a third delay line having an intrinsic delay and a voltage controlled delay, the third delay line receiving the input clock signal and generating a third clock signal; and
wherein the intrinsic delays of the first, second and third delay lines are substantially the same, but the voltage controlled delays of the first, second and third delay lines are substantially different from each other.
40. A processor-based system comprising:
a processor having a processor bus;
an input device coupled to the processor through the processor bus adapted to allow data to be entered into the computer system;
an output device coupled to the processor through the processor bus adapted to allow data to be output from the computer system; and
a memory device coupled to the processor bus adapted to allow data to be stored, the memory device comprising:
a row address circuit operable to receive and decode row address signals applied to external address terminals of the memory device;
a column address circuit operable to receive and decode column address signals applied to the external address terminals; and
a memory device, comprising:
a row address circuit operable to receive and decode row address signals applied to external address terminals of the memory device;
a column address circuit operable to receive and decode column address signals applied to the external address terminals;
a memory cell array operable to store data written to and read from the array at a location determined by the decoded row address signals and the decoded column address signals;
a read data path circuit operable to couple read data signals from the array to external data terminals of the memory device;
a write data path circuit operable to couple write data signals from the external data terminals of the memory device to the array;
a command decoder operable to decode a plurality of command signals applied to respective external command terminals of the memory device, the command decoder being operable to generate control signals corresponding to the decoded command signals; and
a delay-lock loop operable to generate either the write data strobe signal or the read data strobe signal from an internal clock signal, the delay-lock loop comprising:
a first delay line having an intrinsic delay and a voltage controlled delay, the first delay line receiving an input clock signal and generating a first clock signal;
a second delay line having an intrinsic delay and a voltage controlled delay, the second delay line receiving the input clock signal and generating a second clock signal;
a third delay line having an intrinsic delay and a voltage controlled delay, the third delay line receiving the input clock signal and generating a third clock signal; and
wherein the intrinsic delays of the first, second and third delay lines are substantially the same, but the voltage controlled delays of the first, second and third delay lines are substantially different from each other.
2. The delay-lock loop of
3. The delay-lock loop of
4. The delay-lock loop of
8. The delay-lock loop of
9. The delay-lock loop of
10. The delay-lock loop of
11. The delay-lock loop of
12. The delay-lock loop of
a fourth delay line receiving the input clock signal and generating a fourth clock signal;
a fifth delay line receiving the input clock signal and generating a fifth clock signal; and
wherein the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth delay lines each have the same intrinsic delay, but each of the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth delay lines impose a different voltage controlled delay on the input clock signal.
13. The delay-lock loop of
14. The delay-lock loop of
15. The delay-lock loop of
16. The delay lock loop of
17. The delay-lock loop of
the first delay line comprises first, second, third and fourth fixed delay units coupled in series;
the second delay line comprises the first, second and third fixed delay units coupled in series with a first variable delay unit;
the third delay line comprises the first and second fixed delay units coupled in series with second and third variable delay units;
the fourth delay line comprises the first fixed delay unit coupled in series with fourth, fifth, and sixth variable delay units; and the fifth delay line comprises seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth variable delay units coupled in series.
18. The delay-lock loop of
19. The delay-lock loop of
the second delay line comprises the first, second and third variable delay units coupled in series with a first fixed delay unit;
the third delay line comprises the first and second variable delay units coupled in series with second and third fixed delay units;
the fourth delay line comprises the first variable delay unit coupled in series with fourth, fifth, and sixth fixed delay units; and
the fifth delay line comprises seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth fixed delay units coupled in series.
21. The memory device of
22. The memory device of
23. The memory device of
27. The memory device of
28. The memory device of
29. The memory device of
30. The memory device of
31. The memory device of
a fourth delay line receiving the input clock signal and generating a fourth clock signal;
a fifth delay line receiving the input clock signal and generating a fifth clock signal; and
wherein the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth delay lines each have the same intrinsic delay, but each of the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth delay lines impose a different voltage controlled delay on the input clock signal.
32. The memory device of
33. The memory device of
34. The memory device of
35. The memory device of
36. The memory device of
the first delay line comprises first, second, third and fourth fixed delay units coupled in series;
the second delay line comprises the first, second and third fixed delay units coupled in series with a first variable delay unit;
the third delay line comprises the first and second fixed delay units coupled in series with second and third variable delay units;
the fourth delay line comprises the first fixed delay unit coupled in series with fourth, fifth, and sixth variable delay units; and
the fifth delay line comprises seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth variable delay units coupled in series.
37. The memory device of
38. The memory device of
the second delay line comprises the first, second and third variable delay units coupled in series with a first fixed delay unit;
the third delay line comprises the first and second variable delay units coupled in series with second and third fixed delay units;
the fourth delay line comprises the first variable delay unit coupled in series with fourth, fifth, and sixth fixed delay units; and
the fifth delay line comprises seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth fixed delay units coupled in series.
39. The memory device of
41. The processor-based system of
42. The processor-based system of
43. The processor-based system of
47. The processor-based system of
48. The processor-based system of
49. The processor-based system of
50. The processor-based system of
51. The processor-based system of
a fourth delay line receiving the input clock signal and generating a fourth clock signal;
a fifth delay line receiving the input clock signal and generating a fifth clock signal; and
wherein the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth delay lines each have the same intrinsic delay, but each of the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth delay lines impose a different voltage controlled delay on the input clock signal.
52. The processor-based system of
53. The processor-based system of
54. The processor-based system of
55. The processor-based system of
56. The processor-based system of
the first delay line comprises first, second, third and fourth fixed delay units coupled in series;
the second delay line comprises the first, second and third fixed delay units coupled in series with a first variable delay unit;
the third delay line comprises the first and second fixed delay units coupled in series with second and third variable delay units;
the fourth delay line comprises the first fixed delay unit coupled in series with fourth, fifth, and sixth variable delay units; and
the fifth delay line comprises seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth variable delay units coupled in series.
57. The processor-based system of
58. The processor-based system of
the second delay line comprises the first, second and third variable delay units coupled in series with a first fixed delay unit;
the third delay line comprises the first and second variable delay units coupled in series with second and third fixed delay units;
the fourth delay line comprises the first variable delay unit coupled in series with fourth, fifth, and sixth fixed delay units; and
the fifth delay line comprises seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth fixed delay units coupled in series.
59. The processor-based system of
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This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/027,376, filed Dec. 29, 2004 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,106,655.
This invention relates to clock generating systems and methods, and, more particularly, to a delay-lock loop and method for generating a multi-phased clock signal having a maximum operating frequency that is not limited by the minimum delay of voltage-controlled delay units used in the delay-lock loop.
Periodic digital signals are commonly used in a variety of electronic devices. Probably the most common type of periodic digital signals are clock signals that are typically used to establish the timing of a digital signal or the timing at which an operation is performed on a digital signal. For example, data signals are typically coupled to and from memory devices, such as synchronous dynamic random access memory (“SDRAM”) devices, in synchronism with a clock or data strobe signal. More specifically, read data signals are typically coupled from a memory device in synchronism with a read data strobe signal. The read data strobe signal typically has the same phase as the read data signals, and it is normally generated by the same memory device that is outputting the read data signals. Write data signals are typically latched into a memory device in synchronism with a write data strobe signal. The write data strobe signal should have a phase that is the quadrature of the write data signals so that a transition of the write data strobe signal occurs during a “data eye” occurring at the center of the period in which the write data signals are valid. The write strobe signal is typically generated by the memory controller from an internal clock signal that is derived from the system clock signal, and it is coupled to the memory device into which the data are being written. Unfortunately, the phase of the system clock signal is normally substantially the same as the phase of the write data signals. Therefore, it is necessary for the memory controller to generate the write data strobe signal as a quadrature signal having a phase that is 90-degrees relative to the phase of the internal clock signal. In other cases, a quadrature clock signal used for latching write data is generated in the memory device to which the data are being written. The quadrature clock signal is typically generated in the memory device from an internal clock signal that is also derived from the system clock signal.
Various techniques can be used and have been used by memory controllers and memory devices to generate a quadrature clock signal or write data strobe signal. If the frequency of the internal clock signal is fixed, a quadrature write strobe signal can be generated by a timing circuit that simply generates a transition of the write strobe signal a fixed time after a corresponding transition of the internal clock signal. However, synchronous memory devices are typically designed and sold to be operated over a wide range of clock frequencies. Therefore, it is generally not practical to use a fixed timing circuit to generate a write data strobe signal from the internal clock signal. Instead, a circuit that can adapt itself to an internal clock signal having a range of frequencies must be used.
Multi-phase clock signals are also required for applications other than for use as a write data strobe signal. For example, a “frequency doubler” circuit, which generates an output clock signal having twice the frequency of an input clock signal, can be implemented using an appropriate logic circuit that receives the input clock signal and quadrature versions of the input clock signal.
One conventional circuit that can generate multi-phase clock signals from an internal clock signal having a variable frequency is a delay-lock loop, such as the delay-lock loop 10 shown in
D=DI+DV.
The total delay DT of the delay line 14, i.e., the delay of the CLK4 signal relative to the iCLK signal, is thus given by the formula:
DT=4DI+4DV.
The CLK4 signal generated at the output of the final VDU 22 is also applied to one of two inputs to a phase detector (“PD”) 26. The other input of the phase detector 26 receives the same iCLK signal that is applied to the input of the VDU 16. In operation, the phase detector 26 generates an error signal “E” at its output that is indicative of the lead or lag phase error of the CLK4 signal relative to the iCLK signal. The error signal E is applied to a VDU control unit 28, which generates a control signal that is applied to the control terminal C of the VDUs 16–22. The control signal adjusts the delay of the VDUs 16–22 to minimize the error signal and hence the phase error between the iCLK signal and the CLK4 signal. Therefore, the delays of the VDUs 16–22 are automatically adjusted until the phase of the iCLK signal is substantially equal to the phase of the CLK4 signal.
The operation of the delay-lock loop 10 will further be explained with reference to
The delay-lock loop 10 shown in
The delay lock loop 10 can continue to lock the CLK4 signal to the iCLK signal increases by simply reducing the magnitude of the voltage-controlled delay 4DV to reduce the total delay DT. However, as shown in
The fixed intrinsic delay of delay lines used in conventional delay-lock loops can therefore severely limit the frequency range over which d loops can be used. There is therefore a need for a delay-lock loop having a frequency range that is not limited by the intrinsic delay of conventional delay lines.
A delay-lock loop is used to generate a plurality of clock signals having predetermined phases relative to each other using an input clock signal. The system and method includes at least three delay lines. A first delay line delays the input clock signal by a delay of DF to generate a first clock signal, where DF is a fixed delay time. A second delay line delays the input clock signal by a delay of DF+MDV to generate a second clock signal. The delay DV is a variable delay time corresponding to a control signal applied to the second delay line, and M is the ratio of the phase of the second clock signal relative to the phase of the first clock signal. A third delay line delays the input clock signal by a delay of DF+DV; to generate a third clock signal. A phase detector compares the phase of the first clock signal with the phase of the third clock signal. Based on this comparison, the phase detector being generates the control signal. Portions of the delay lines may be common to each other, and the delay-lock loop may include an additional number of delay lines using a different number for M to generate additional clock signals having different phases.
One embodiment of a delay-lock loop 40 for generating multi-phase clock signals is shown in
The output from the next-to-last VDUi 50c is coupled through a VDU 54a, which generates a CLK1 signal. The VDU 54a delays the signal from the output of the VDUi 50c by the sum of the voltage controlled delay DV and the intrinsic delay DI. As a result, the CLK1 signal is delayed form the iCLK signal by four intrinsic delays and one variable delay, i.e., 4DI+DV. In a similar manner, the iCLK signal is coupled through the VDUi 50a, the VDUi 50b, and two VDUs 56a,b to generate the CLK2 signal. The CLK2 signal is therefore delayed from the iCLK signal by four intrinsic delays and two variable delays, i.e., 4DI+2DV. The iCLK signal is coupled through only one VDUi 50a and three VDUs 58a,b,c to generate the CLK3 signal. The CLK3 signal is therefore delayed from the iCLK signal by four intrinsic delays and three variable delays, i.e., 4DI+3DV. Finally, the CLK4 signal is generated by coupling the iCLK signal through four VDUs 60a–d so that it is delayed from the iCLK signal by four intrinsic delays and four variable delays, i.e., 4DI+4DV. The delay of each of the clock signals CLK0 relative to the iCLK signal is summarized in the following Table 1:
TABLE 1
Signal
Delay
CLK0
4DI
CLK1
4DI + Dv
CLK2
4DI + 2Dv
CLK3
4DI + 3Dv
CLK4
4DI + 4Dv
The CLK0 signal and the CLK4 signal are applied to a phase detector PD 64, which may be the same as the phase detector 26 used in the conventional delay-lock loop 10 of
It can be seen from
The phase detector 64 ensures that the phase of the CLK0 signal is equal to the phase of the CLK4 signal delayed by 360 degrees. Thus, 4DI+360 must equal 4DI+4DV, which requires that 4DV=360 thereby making DV=90. Significantly, the only requirement for the delay-lock loop 40 to operate is that it must be possible to reduce the voltage-controlled delay DV enough so that it is equal to one-quarter period of the iCLK signal. Since the voltage-controlled delay DV can be reduced to zero, the frequency of the iCLK signal can theoretically be infinity, although the components in the delay-lock loop 40 would be unable to operate above some frequency. However, the frequency limit of the delay-lock loop 40 is not limited by the intrinsic delays DI of the VDUs. In contrast, the phase detector 26 in the convention delay-lock loop 10 of
Delay-lock loops that eliminate the limitations on operating frequency caused by intrinsic delays of delay elements can also be implemented using other VDU and VDUi arrangements. For example, with reference to
As can be seen in
The operation of the delay-lock loop 86 will be initially explained with the assumption that the delays DLY1, DLY2 of the delay lines 94, 96, respectively, are equal to each other. Therefore, after the CLKIN signal is delayed by the 4 VDUi's to provide the CLK0 signal, the CLK0 signal will have the same phase as the iCLK signal. This is accomplished by the phase detector 92 and VDU control unit 90 adjusting the delay of the VDU 88 so that it is equal to the period of the iCLK signal less 4DI.
The phase relationship between the CLK0 signal and the iCLK signal can be adjusted in any manner desired by selecting delays DLY1, DLY2 of the delay lines 94, 96, respectively, so that they are not equal to each other. If DLY1 is greater than DLY2, the iCLK signal will lead the CLK0 signal. If DLY1 is less than DLY2, the iCLK signal will lag the CLK0 signal.
Delay-lock loops according various embodiments of the invention can be used to generate other signals, such as a duty cycle corrected signal or a multiple of the iCLK signal. For example, with reference to
As mentioned above, various embodiments of the invention can be used to generate clock signals having frequencies that are a multiple of the frequency of the frequency of the iCLK signal. With reference to
Delay-lock loops according to various embodiments of the present invention can be used for a variety of purposes in electronic devices, such as memory devices. For example, with reference to
The SDRAM 200 includes an address register 212 that receives row addresses and column addresses through an address bus 214. The address bus 214 is generally coupled through input receivers 210 and then applied to a memory controller (not shown in
After the row address has been applied to the address register 212 and stored in one of the row address latches 226, a column address is applied to the address register 212. The address register 212 couples the column address to a column address latch 240. Depending on the operating mode of the SDRAM 200, the column address is either coupled through a burst counter 242 to a column address buffer 244, or to the burst counter 242 which applies a sequence of column addresses to the column address buffer 244 starting at the column address output by the address register 212. In either case, the column address buffer 244 applies a column address to a column decoder 248.
Data to be read from one of the arrays 220, 222 is coupled to the column circuitry 254, 255 for one of the arrays 220, 222, respectively. The data is then coupled through a data output register 256 and data output drivers 257 to a data bus 258. The data output drivers 257 apply the read data to the data bus 258 responsive to a read data strobe signal SR generated by the delay line 40, 70 or 86, or some other embodiments of a delay line in accordance with the present invention. The SDRAM 200 shown in
Data to be written to one of the arrays 220, 222 are coupled from the data bus 258 through data input receivers 261 to a data input register 260. The data input receivers 261 couple the write data from the data bus 258 responsive to a write data strobe signal SW generated responsive to CLK1 and CLK3 signals, which are generated by the delay-lock loop 40, 70 or 86 or some other embodiment of a delay-lock loop in accordance with the present invention. As a result, the write data are coupled into the SDRAM 200 from the data bus 258 at the center of a “data eye” corresponding to the phase of the iCLK signal. The write data are coupled to the column circuitry 254, 255 where they are transferred to one of the arrays 220, 222, respectively. A mask register 264 responds to a data mask DM signal to selectively alter the flow of data into and out of the column circuitry 254, 255, such as by selectively masking data to be read from the arrays 220, 222.
The SDRAM 200 shown in
From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, different numbers of VDU can be used to generate any number of clock signals having any desired phase relationship to each other. Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.
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